Jets Legend Klecko On Coples: 'He Looks Like Tarzan, Plays Like Jane'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Joe Klecko respects Quinton Coples, thinks he's a very good player, but says there's something missing from his game.
Klecko was a guest on WFAN with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on Friday and didn't mince words about Coples the impact players versus Coples, the player who hasn't yet lived up to his abilities.
"Well, he's another one. A little bit of the time he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane," Klecko said.
Joe Klecko
The 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft out of North Carolina, Coples was drafted as a defensive lineman, but was eventually converted to outside linebacker by the Jets. He recorded 5.5 sacks as rookie, but ran in place a bit early last season before turning it on late, registering 3.5 sacks over the Jets' final four games.
Klecko said the guy that helped the Jets to three wins last December on their way to a surprising 8-8 season needs to show up Week 1 this season and never take any plays off.
"Sometimes (Coples) gets out there and does things that are unbelievable. Well, you need to go out there and stick your nose in there every time and make sure everybody knows your there. I think he has a lot to learn," Klecko said.
Klecko can talk because he knows what it takes to become a premier defensive lineman in the NFL. From 1977-87, he was a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time first team All Pro, shining at three different positions as a pass rusher and run stopper.
He said Coples, who is 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds, has the talent to be whatever he wants to be on the field, but doesn't yet have that "it" quality that both Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson have.
"I don't know him at all, but understanding attitude and body language, he sometimes comes out there I think and thinks 'Don't you know who I am? I'm here.' He has to start proving that he is something to be reckoned with," Klecko said.
"You have to have defensive players on the team that do that kind of play – go for the jugular vein, all out, all the time. And then everyone starts to listen you. If you have just a group of lukewarm guys, you're going to have lukewarm players that will need to have to be picked up by their leaders," he added.
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